Week 6 – And I would walk 500 Myles for a 3 for and 4 catches (Officially it was 140 miles from Nottingham)

The Under 9 Development team played their first match in the West Surrey League against Valley End. They put up a good performance but just lost in the end.

The Under 9s made it 5 out of 5 in the Berkshire League with a 206 run win over the Slough Panthers and a 40 run win over the Henley Panthers.

The Under 11 Royals made it 4 wins out of 4 in Division 2 of the Berkshire League with a 122 run win while the Under 11s lost to Bagshot in the West Surrey League.

The Under 13s lost by 32 runs to Godalming in the West Surrey League.

The 1s visited Thatcham Town as the league reverted to 100 over cricket. This changes the dynamic of the game significantly in that if you have a couple of good bowlers then they can be bowled more than the maximum 10 overs to keep the pressure on.

Ascot won the toss and decided to bat first. However, momentum was difficult to achieve throughout the innings as Alex Wood 3 for 50 and Chris Bird 4 for 34 kept the run rate down. Only the return of Nick Sweetman 79 not out, James Gamble 22 and Andy Murray 22 helped Ascot get to 169 all out in the 51st over.

Thatcham Town didn’t find runs easy either and while they had wickets in had with a 7th wicket partnership between Rhodri Lewis 54 and Benjamin Copeman 25 not out – it was overs left that became the main factor. But with two balls remain Thatcham won the game with 7 wickets down. Ollie Dunnett the pick of the Ascot bowlers with 3 for 43.

This week the 1s entertain High Wycombe 2s in a mid-table clash.

The 2s were at home to Bagshot 2s – the team that were promoted with the 2s as champions. Ascot won the toss and elected to bat first. They reached a strong total of 201 for 7 off 52 overs thanks to contributions from Deep Mohain 47, George Payne 33 and 55 from Jason Carr. Jonny Atkinson was the pick of the Bagshot bowlers with 3 for 24.

Saeed Ahmed bowled a great opening spell with removed the Bagshot top 3 for 37 runs including the dangerous skipper batsman keeper Dan Sutton for 23. But apart from 25 from Jeremy Davis who was brilliantly caught by George Payne off Elliot Coggins bowling, Bagshot fell well short being bowled out for 123 as Mike Wyatt removed the tail with 4 for 22.

This week the 2s go on the road to Reading 2s.

The 3s went to Farnham Common 2s who won the toss and decided to bat first. The wicket looked a belter but runs were not as easy to get as anticipated and the outfield ensured that boundaries were at a premium.

Wickets fell at regular intervals as Tim Howson bowled an impressive spell for 5 for 54 but Mazhar Farooq ensured that they reached 139 all out with a big hitting 43.

That was the big difference in the end as Ascot struggled against tight bowling and fielding to subside to 96 all out with only Gary Clarke making a significant contribution with 27. Feisal Gulfraz took 3 for 17.

The 3s are at Locks Ride to table toppers Sonning 2s this week.

The 4s were at home to Windsor 4s – their first game of the season as they have now withdrawn their 2s.

Windsor won the toss and batted first. They reached a very competitive score of 177 all out in the 43rd over. The main contributions came from Ben Lickley 43, Paul Woodbridge 36 and R McKay 32. Naeem Mohammad took 4 for 35 and Myles Trainor had a great day in the field as he took 3 for 43 and 4 catches.

Despite 39 from Chris Harding and some double figure contributions from the middle order the match was in the balance at 140 for 7. But Naeem’s 21 not out and Rob Phillips 24 not out saw Ascot home by 3 wickets.